Car hire customers drink and drive

Car hire customers who drink and drive are putting other people at risk and ignoring the inherent dangers, one motoring expert has said.

According to car insurance provider, swiftcover, British car hire drivers are more likely to overestimate the amount of alcohol they can consume before driving than in any other country surveyed.

Road safety charity Brake reports that the current drink-drive limit in the UK is 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood. The figure is higher than the majority of EU countries and the European Commission recommends a limit of 50mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood or less.

A spokesperson from swiftcover, said: "What's worrying is that it is the higher level of people who over estimate the amount of alcohol they are able to drink.

“It's a reflection of people not taking drink driving as seriously as they should do. This can only lead to more accidents abroad and tarnish the British reputation"

Research conducted by swiftcover into motorists’ knowledge of the drink drive limit, published last month, found that 39 per cent of drivers thought the legal alcohol limit for driving is the equivalent of one pint of beer.

Another 13 per cent thought they could down two pints of beer and still drive legally, while two per cent said the limit was even higher than two pints of beer and 15 per cent did not know what the drink drive limit is.

In the same month, a separate piece of research was released by AA Insurance on car insurance premiums during the recession exposed some of the other bad habits of UK car hire motorists, and drivers in general.

The survey revealed that one of the biggest insurance scams is “fronting”, where motorists try to mislead insurers as to who is the main driver in order to cut their premiums.

However, insurance firm swiftcover was more concerned about the rate of drink driving among motoring Brits than their insurance-fiddling antics.

The spokesperson added: “The fact that 60 per cent of motorists in our survey overestimated the levels of drink driving, [shows that] I don't think they are taking on board the danger they are posing to not only themselves as drivers and their passengers but also to other road users.

“I don't think they are really taking into consideration the dangers - that they are putting everybody at risk.”

He also noted that if a driver has a minor accident or is stopped by the police and found to be over the limit it can have a “massive impact” on their insurance and ability to get this cover in the future.

Furthermore, those with drink driving convictions may also find it harder to hire a car.